Conservation

This species is listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as vulnerable with a decreasing population trend. It is thought that numbers have decreased by a third in the past 21 years.

It is listed on appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Threats

Humans pose the main threat to Cryptoprocta ferox. They are hunted and persecuted because of their exaggerated reputation as being fearsome, and their role as a pest - they are known to hunt poultry and are said to attack hogs and oxen.

There is also considerable superstition associated the species (Hawkins, 2008), (Pickrell, 2005).

This species' habitat is threatened due to collection of firewood and conversion to agricultural land, and is being fragmented due to selective logging (Hawkins, 2008).

Cryptoprocta ferox has no natural predators but is predated by feral dogs (Hawkins, 2008). Diseases such as rabies that are transmitted by introduced animals also threaten the species (Pickrell, 2005).